Best Interactive Books for Preschoolers

These are some of my favorite books for reading aloud with your preschooler. All of these naturally lend themselves to the kind of prompting I discussed in this post (and printable!)— which supports the development of emergent literacy. One thing all these books have in common is that they are narratives rather than rhyming books– rhyming books have other kinds of benefits but don’t lend themselves to interactive reading as much. If you find that your preschooler is interrupting your rhyming books alot to ask question you might try some narrative picture books and engage them throughout using the PEER strategy.

Here is the list of prompts I shared before for reference:

A Visitor for Bear (Bear and Mouse): I love this book as a read together book! “No one ever came to Bear’s house. It had always been that way, and Bear was quite sure he didn’t like visitors. He even had a sign. NO visitors allowed.” Until one day a persistent mouse pops up over and over again in unexpected places and Bear, most unexpectedly, discovers he might like visitors after all. This book lends itself well to completion phrases: “And there was the mouse!” is a phrase repeated throughout that children love to join in and shout. It’s also great for asking “How does Bear feel?/How does mouse feel?”, “What does Bear do next?” (recall)/ “Why did Bear do that?” A delightful and naturally interactive book that has the added bonus of showing a range of emotions, which is great for children’s development of emotion understanding.

Go! Go! Go! Stop!: This also a great read together book. I don’t think it is possible to read this book without your child joining in! It is the story of little green who comes to help construction machines build a bridge. Little green knows only one word — GO! But there was too much GO! Then little red comes along and he has one word as well — STOP! Little green and little red have to learn to work together. Kids will naturally start completing the phrases and even begin recognizing the printed words GO and STOP, which are written in large green and red colored text. Great for completion prompts and recall prompts especially. Also, great for distancing prompts or what I like to call connecting –talk about stoplights when you are driving or playing cars/trucks. Playing Stop!Go! games is great for developing self-regulation and this book provides the stop/go language, “That is a little too much go! Let’s have a little more stop.”

Harold and the Purple Crayon (Purple Crayon Books): A classic narrative that naturally lends itself to “What happens next”, completion prompts, and open-ended prompts. Most of you probably know this story about a little boy who draws a whole world with his purple crayon.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give…): This is the book I used as the example in the printable. A boy offers a mouse a cookie and that leads to a series of events. The book makes a complete circle (circular logic), which makes it fun and has children anticipating what that mouse will do next. Great for recall prompts, how does the mouse/boy feel, and completion prompts. This book is especially good for “Why” prompts due to the circular logic. Why does the mouse want milk? Why does the mouse draw a picture?

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear (Child’s Play Library): A little mouse is going to pick a red ripe strawberry and the narrator warns the mouse about the big hungry bear. What happens next, why is the mouse doing that, how does the mouse feel, completion and open-ended prompts all work really well for this book. This one is nice and short, but very engaging. Even at bedtime, this is a book you can read and still use prompts without it drawing out too long.

The Snowy Day: I wish there were more books like this, just a child on an adventure. Children love this simple story and are fascinated with what Peter does in the snow. Great for asking “Why” questions because Peter does what any child would do, it’s on their level. Why did Peter smack that tree? Why did Peter drag his feet? Why was the snow gone from Peter’s pocket?

The Day the Crayons Quit: This is another great narrative that engages children. Why was the purple crayon upset? What did the beige crayon draw? Who should get to color the sun– orange or yellow? This is also a great book for “distancing” or connecting prompts. What do you think red and blue would say to each other? What color do you use to color the sun? What is your favorite crayon?

So that’s my list of favorites, but there are so many great narratives out there that lend themselves to dialogic reading with your children. What narratives is your child loving now? Let me know in the comments below!!

I am a developmental psychologist with a passion for understanding how young children learn to deal with stress and emotions. Once I became a mom, I was overjoyed and found myself facing my hardest job yet. Join me on my quest to understand children's emotions, behavior, and how best to support their development! Let’s nurture them and watch them thrive!

What a great collection of books. We have a few, but now I have a few more to add to my list to check out. I think the idea of using Go! Go! Go! Stop! to practice self-regulation is great! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.Janine Halloran recently posted…Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party 70